Turtles

Akumal means “Place of the Turtle” in Mayan

Akumal means “place of the turtle” in Mayan as these beautiful creatures have made Akumal home for hundreds of years. Yes, the turtles love Akumal too!

The beaches in Akumal are natural habitats for endangered Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles. The CEA (Centro Ecológico Akumal) educates residents and visitors about habitat preservation. Turtles lay their eggs during the night (May – Sep) and CEA members mark the nests daily to ensure they are not tampered with by humans. Typically, the baby turtles are hatched and escape to the ocean 60 days later continuing the magic of Akumal.

Here’s a small baby turtle that we rescued and released into South Akumal Bay in Akumal, Mexico. The night before, several baby turtles hatched from their nest in front of Akumal Breakers and they scampered out into the Caribbean. We found this one the next morning as it had gotten hung up in a palm tree trunk. We carefully placed it on the shoreline for its first swim in its new home. We look forward to seeing this baby turtle, along with its siblings, grow into the beautiful larger turtles that call Akumal home.